Interview With Matt McDonough Of Mudvayne From April 9th

I had the chance to attend the Mudvayne, American Head Charge, Life of Agony and Bloodsimple show in Philadelphia, PA. The show was on April 09th at the Electric Factory, a venue that holds approximately 3,000 people. I got to do an interview with the drummer of the band, Matt McDonough, prior to the show. So without any further delay, here is the interview:

Mike (Corrosivemind): How was the Guerilla Tour for you guys and how is this tour going so far?

Matt (Mudvayne): Great. Wonderful. Super. What do you want me to say? The Guerilla Tour sucked, it was horrible. It was the worst production we’ve had in years of touring. The fans were great. So far the response for this tour is awesome. Doing well with ticket sales, doing better then expected considering the climate of the music industry right now. We’re satisfied.

Mike (Corrosivemind): How was it working with Dave Fortman on this album?

Matt (Mudvayne): Great, he’s a cool dude.

Mike (Corrosivemind): Was he any different from the previous producers you’ve worked with?

Matt (Mudvayne): I mean, obviously, everyone has their own flavor. You know?

Mike (Corrosivemind): Do you think he was better for you then any other producer you’ve worked with?

Matt (Mudvayne): I wouldn’t say something like that. That’s to assume that there was something wrong with the people we’ve worked with in the past. Every album that we do is different and his headspace is different. Bringing in a different artist in to work with you pulls different energy out of you so the flavor is different.

Mike (Corrosivemind): Was writing the new album, Lost and Found, any different then writing material on your previous albums L.D. 50 or The End of All Things to Come?

Matt (Mudvayne): No, not really. We have a fairly established work ethic that we’ve always operated from. So, we pretty much go into our work with the same attitude of being receptive and open. Encouraging, reflecting on the writing that we do. We worked with the same time constraints schedule-wise and everything. So it was kind of the same as the previous albums.

Mike (Corrosivemind): How did the video concept for “Happy?” come about?

Matt (Mudvayne): Well between Chad talking with the video director. Just getting some ideas you know, it kind of was synonymous what we’ve been doing with our website where the artwork for the new album was coming from. So it kind of made sense to work with the tornado theme and just to work with that topic with the director.

Mike (Corrosivemind): What or who had the biggest influence on you to become a drummer or even just a musician in general?

Matt (Mudvayne): I don’t think it was ever really just one thing. Music is in my family, so I was always around it. So I’ve always just been part of music. Drumming was just the default; I could’ve played a lot of different instruments if I chose to. I actually played piano prior to drums.

Mike (Corrosivemind): What was the craziest thing that has happened to you during any tour?

Matt (Mudvayne): God, I hate those questions. You know what; it’s hard to really remember anything day by day. Life on the road is pretty boring. A question like that would be relevant with a band like Motley Crue or Van Halen or something like that. (the bands drum technician enters the room and Matt jokingly says “why don’t you come in and finish my interview for me?” and then his drum technician finishes the aforementioned question)

Mudvayne’s Drum Tech: Matt didn’t have his phone on all night and he left somewhere prior to that. I spent all night trying to look for him. Here I am pounding on the door of the bus at four in the morning calling out his name. He wasn’t even there (laughs) I thought. Then actually I was about to go and heard him cough so I went in. I think he was listening to music on his iPod or something.

Mike (Corrosivemind): I heard you were working with Pearl to build a signature series, is that true? If so, when will it be available?

Matt (Mudvayne): No, not true. I have a custom snare. They made it for me but it’s not a signature it’s nothing they’re going to put into production. Pretty much, they quit making 8 inch deep snares and I asked if they could make one for me and they did. They actually made me three. But, no, it’s not a custom signature series; I’m not fuckin Vinnie Paul. We don’t sell enough records, I mean, I get treated very well by Pearl but the idea of me getting a signature series is ridiculous, we’re not that popular.

Mudvayne suck? well its very obvious just by reading the lyrics mudvayne is way more lyrically advanced yet slipknot is pretty simple and non complex and its funny you dont like mudvayne but slipknot is very good friends with mudvayne, but i mean like "I wanna slit your throat and f*** the world" them lyrics dont impress me i could care less about that, its also funny you say they suck but they were #1 on the active rock chart and #2 on the Billboard 200 and sense when were mudvayne and slipknot competeing? i dont believe they are they are friends, and for the record Mudvaynes been around long before slipknot was even thought about do your research so their for mudvayne was first, their fore mudvayne are, and always have been the better band, and mudvayne came first, and slipknot wanted mudvayne to tour with them not the other way around,think it would have been best if mudvayne never toured with them in the first place

Both bands are horrible. End of discussion. They are both cheap gimmick bands. Any band that has to dress up in costume to sell there music is f***ing pathetic. And no it doesn't count that Mudvayne doesn't do it anymore, they did when they needed a bigger fanbase. It's easy to cut-out the make-up with the cheese rollin in.

Mudvayne suck really badSlipknot are the real showmen, mudvayne are just annoying little men having a tantrum...they care nothing for their fans either.Slipknot members have all come close to death for their fans

To the person who wrote post #9, clearly you don't know what you're talking about. If anything, Slipknot's lyrics as well as their music is among the most complex out there. Don't bag on the Disasterpiece song without listening to the rest of it. Look up the lyrics for "I am hated", that song alone is better than anything Mudvayne has cranked out to date.

just for the record..why do u compare bands? f***ing kids....if u dont like the band..then keep it to ur f***ing self....dont post a f***ing comment....slipknot is good..and mudvayne is good...but theyre not the same...and its not about the mask/make....its the song/music...if ur saying that mudvayne is trying to get fans with theyre make up...then ur a f***ing idiot...if u were A CHILD or thinks like a child...u wud think so...but if ur real TRUE listener of metal...ull know which one is good and which one is not really bad...but needs more praktis or brushing up...\m/ rock on..

I AGREE WITH HEAMVORE yeah..this guys put on make-up and mask...to entertain children...like a BDAY party or somethn...so if ur bothered by their masks and make up...then u must think like a child....wweeeeeeeee......listen to theyre music people...and not their clothing...

I AGREE WITH HEAMVORE yeah..this guys put on make-up and mask...to entertain children...like a BDAY party or somethn...so if ur bothered by their masks and make up...then u must think like a child....wweeeeeeeee......listen to theyre music people...and not their clothing...

First of all, Mudvayne is a really great f****** band. Slipknot is hightly overated. All of these immature skater/emo punks that populate high schools these days are always talking about their trendy bulls*** bands they enjoy so much and they all suck. Joey and Corey are the foundation of Slipknot, they hold everything together without question. Corey is a very talented vocalist and Joey is some kind of monster bred and created to play the hell out of a drum kit. Mudvayne, on the other hand, consists of four extremely talented people who are very good at what they do. Chad is a great vocalist, Matt is lord of percussion Ryan is a bass demon, and Greg is.....well, Greg. Ok, he is kind of what you'd expect from a guitarist in this genre of music. Aside from that; Mudvayne has, like Matt Mcdonough has said hundreds of times, began to find themselves. Most of you f****** emo/skater/rocker/goth punks call it 'selling out', I call it growing the f*** up. They've grown so much and matured a lot. They've slowed the screaming idea and focused more on their music than trying to impress everyone with their instumental 'skills'. I'm sorry, I just referred to every s***ty a** metal band out there. "Look everyone, watch as I create a pointless rhythem on the drums. It doesn't matter though, I can play the double bass really fast and our guitarists can play repetetive bulls*** riffs over and over therefore we are a good band." Face it folks, just because a group is somewhat musically talented doesn't mean they're close to a fair group. Slipknot is not worthy of Joey Jordison. He needs to pack up his stuff and get out of that piece of s*** excuse for a band and get involved with someone heading in some direction. (comes to realization of the point he was originally trying to make) Anyways, Mudvayne is a great band and Slipknot is, was, and always will be pure garbage. (prepares to hit the 'enter' key to post message, waiting for outraged kids to desperately post contracdicting rediculous 'comments' in an attempt to 'put me in my place).......everyone is entitled to their opinion folks, I'm not trying to say I'm right and you're wrong but if you want to post an argument of some sort, provide proof of some sort to back it.

honestly ... if you can't get your point across in like 10 lines or less, spare us ..... 17 lines? i read 2 and just about fell asleep .... put together a clear concise point, i WISH i was amused by amused's post .....

post 30 .... if u want to talk about mudvayne .... call someone or something .... this is an open forum with the initial topic being mudvayne .... also, posts 22- 24 are garbage ..... get some spelling/grammar/any sort of educational lessons

Mudvayne is a very good band, slipknot was a good band but they took a few wrong turns and now they lick donky balls. And record sales dont mean sh** because the underground is where all the good music is anyway.

wow, you have excellent social skills. thats a good way to make friends "everyone on here is f***ing retarded". that must've taken the good part of 2 seconds to think up. and then to sum it all up, you put a band on there telling us to go listen to it. i sure want to go listen to defy moira after you called me a retard